TORONTO – Perhaps now we know why it took a quarter-century for a Major League Baseball team to repeat as World Series champions. Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have done it, we understand how harrowing, hair-raising and humbling a feat it really is.

These Dodgers took their repeat bid to the limit – Game 7 of the World Series against a talented Toronto Blue Jays team, down to their final two outs and looking for all the world like those three-peating New York Yankees from 1998-2000 would maintain their status in the baseball pantheon.

And then Miguel Rojas stepped to the plate, a light-hitting utilityman when he climbed into the batter’s box, an October legend when he returned from his trip around the bases.

Rojas’s home run off Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman saved them from the brink, they survived a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the ninth and their most underrated star, catcher Will Smith, finally delivered them the title so many expected.

His long home run to left field off Shane Bieber with two outs in the top of the 11th inning gave the Dodgers their first lead of the night, and Game 6 starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto stranded the tying run at third as the Dodgers secured a 5-4 victory and back-to-back championships.

It was their ninth title in franchise history, eighth since moving to Los Angeles and third in the past five years. Yet it also went from preordained – thanks to a superstar-studded roster and a total investment of half a billion dollars in payroll – to unlikely.

After all, it was the Blue Jays who brought a 3-2 World Series lead back to Canada, nine innings from their first title since 1993.

Instead, it was Smith, exhorting his baseball over the wall, screaming “Come on!” as it whistled over the wall.

And it was Yamamoto, completing one of the gutsiest pitching performances in baseball history: Winning Games 2 and 6 as a starter, then pitching 2 ⅔ innings of scoreless relief on zero days rest to win Game 7.

It was Randy Johnson who ended the Yankees’ dynasty by winning 2001 Game 6 and then coming back a night later to win Game 7 in relief. It took a similarly unbelievable act from Yamamoto to do what those Yankees could – go back-to-back.

— Gabe Lacques

Here’s how Game 7 unfolded in Toronto:

Will Smith home run puts Dodgers up in 11th

Shane Bieber came in to pitch the 11th for the Blue Jays and retired the first two batters, getting Shohei Ohtani to break his bat for the second out. Then, Dodgers catcher Will Smith launched a solo home run to left field, what could be a World Series-winning blast in Game 7.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto tosses scoreless 10th for Dodgers

Seranthony Dominguez escapes bases-loaded jam in 10th

A Mookie Betts walk, Max Muncy Single and Teoscar Hernandez walk loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 10th, but the Dodgers couldn’t scratch out a run.

Andy Pages makes unbelievable catch to send Game 7 to extra innings

TORONTO – This World Series Game 7 is going extra innings – and getting even more insane with every subsequent sequence. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth when Andy Pages – inserted into the game for defensive purposes moments earlier – staggered into the left center field gap and hauled in Ernie Clement’s long fly ball that could have walked it off and crowned the Blue Jays. 

The twist: Left fielder Kiké Hernandez had designs on the ball, too. But Pages is 6-1. Hernandez is 5-11. Tall man wins – and barely hung on to the ball as Hernandez tumbled to the warning track. 

On to the 10th. 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto walks into a ninth-inning jam

Some 27 hours after starting the Dodgers’ Game 6 win, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is coming on in relief, replacing Blake Snell with runners on first and second and one out.

Miguel Rojas home run ties Game 7

TORONTO – Miguel Rojas, the afterthought addition to a struggling Los Angeles Dodgers lineup, hit one of the biggest World Series homers in franchise history to rescue the Dodgers – for now – in the top of the ninth in World Series Game 7. 

With the Toronto Blue Jays just two outs away from clinching their first World Series championship since 1993, Rojas hammered a Jeff Hoffman pitch 387 feet out to left field, tying the winner-take-all battle 4-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth. 

You like unlikely heroes? Welcome to Rojas. The valued utilityman in his second stint with the Dodgers hit just seven home runs this season. 

He only cracked the World Series lineup because center fielder Andy Pages was struggling so mightily, the Dodgers opted to move Tommy Edman to the outfield and drop Rojas at the bottom of the lineup. 

Goodness, did he deliver, crushing a hanging Hoffman splitter out to left. Blake Snell will now attempt to suppress the Blue Jays in the bottom of the ninth. 

Max Muncy home run makes it 4-3

The Dodgers cut the Blue Jays’ lead back to one run on Max Muncy’s solo homer in the top of the eighth off Trey Yesavage.

Blue Jays get another huge double play to end seventh

TORONTO – Helmets are flying, rookies are flourishing, the first baseman is performing acrobatics and Rogers Centre is roaring. 

The Toronto Blue Jays are six outs away from their first World Series since 1993. 

Andrés Giménez’s double cashed in Ernie Clement with a crucial insurance run, Clement tossing his helmet to round third and sprawl across home plate as the Blue Jays took a 4-2 lead over the defending champion Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series. 

Rookie Trey Yesavage made the margin stand up in his first relief appearance of his very young major league career. He walked Shohei Ohtani leading off the seventh, then retired the dangerous Will Smith on a fly ball to center field. 

Then, he induced a ground ball from All-Star Freddie Freeman. Vladimir Guerrero fielded the ball, made a difficult throw to second for one out and then scampered back to the bag to complete the gorgeous 3-6-3 double play. 

Yesavage raised both arms in triumph. Guerrero jogged off the field, screaming to the heavens. 

They’re drawing ever closer in Toronto, a city ready to erupt. 

Blue Jays get crucial insurance run: Toronto 4, Dodgers 2 through six

Ernie Clement led off the bottom of the sixth with a single against Tyler Glasnow and then stole second. Andres Gimenez scorched a run-scoring double to right, extending Toronto’s lead to 4-2 with nobody out. But Glasnow got George Springer, Nathan Lukes and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to escape further damage and send Game 7 to the seventh inning.

How to watch World Series Game 7: Dodgers-Blue Jays stream

TV channel: FOX
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Watch World Series Game 7 LIVE on Fubo

Max Scherzer steps aside, Blue Jays lead 3-1 halfway through

TORONTO — Max Scherzer exited to a roaring standing ovation. Louis Varland made sure the Blue Jays did not stay with him too long. 

In a pivotal fifth-inning sequence in Game 7 of the World Series, Varland retired Will Smith and Freddie Freeman on fly balls to center field and the Blue Jays retained their 3-1 lead at the game’s halfway point. 

Scherzer, the 41-year-old aiming to win his third World Series championship, was pulled with one out in the fifth after giving up a single to No. 9 batter Miguel Rojas. 

Varland, setting a major league record with his 15th appearance this postseason, gave up a single to Shohei Ohtani, putting the tying runs aboard. 

But he got the dangerous Smith and Freeman on fly balls, pumping his fist and heading toward the dugout even before the ball settled in center fielder Daulton Varsho’s mitt. 

Benches clear in World Series Game 7

TORONTO – The World Series championship is at stake in Game 7, high enough stakes already. Yet that alone wasn’t enough to prevent a benches-clearing incident in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Dodgers reliever Justin Wrobleski hit Andrés Giménez with a pitch with two outs, Giménez immediately dropping his bat and complaining to the lefty. 

And an already passively tense Game 7 suddenly turned aggressive. 

The benches cleared, and several shoving matches broke out, as Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy restrained Wrobleski and the Blue Jays hopped over the third base dugout railing to join the fray. 

Wrobleski’s plunking of Giménez marked the sixth time Blue Jays batters had been hit in the World Series; the Dodgers have absorbed two hit-by-pitches. Giménez was also hit by lefty reliever Evan Dreyer in Game 4. 

The tension between the dugouts had been brewing since the bottom of the first inning, when Dodgers starting pitcher and leadoff batter Shohei Ohtani took almost the entire between-innings break resting in the dugout. He emerged with about 40 seconds left and the countdown clock stopped. 

After that half inning, Blue Jays manager John Schneider conferred at length with homeplate umpire Jordan Baker. After Ohtani batted in the third, he remained in the dugout from the 3:10 mark at the coundown’s start until 17 seconds remained. 

The crowd booed. Homeplate umpire Jordan Baker said something to Ohtani. The clock stopped. As Springer stepped in, it’d been 4 minutes, 20 seconds since a pitch was last thrown. In a mid-inning interview with Fox Sports, Schneider called the delay ‘egregious’ and that the umpires said they’d discuss the delay with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts 

The point became moot when the Blue Jays chased Ohtani, the pitcher,  from the game on Bo Bichette’s three-run homer in the third.

Louis Varland was warming in the Blue Jays bullpen, readying to relieve Max Scherzer. He dropped everything and led his bullpen mates to the infield. 

Both benches were warned and the next batter, George Springer, drilled a ball off Wrobleski’s foot, to the delight of the crowd. Wrobleski stayed in the game. 

Daulton Varsho catch saves Blue Jays but Dodgers make it 3-1

TORONTO – Max Scherzer needed gallant efforts from his defense to escape the top of the fourth with the lead in World Series Game 7. 

The 41-year-old found trouble his third time through the Dodgers order, giving up a double and single to Will Smith and Freddie Freeman, respectively, to start the inning, and a one-out walk to Max Muncy loaded the bases. 

But center fielder Daulton Varsho made a remarkable catch on Teoscar Hernandez’s 109.8 mph drive to center, snaring the ball just off the turf for a sacrifice fly and a huge second out. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the first baseman far more spry than the casual observer imagined, then launched his body into foul ground to snare Tommy Edman’s soft liner, ending the inning. 

It was a remarkable risk-reward play by Varsho: Miss it, and the game is tied, a runner at third and just one out. But Varsho did not miss, and Scherzer escaped the fourth with the lead. 

Bo Bichette home run knocks out Ohtani: Blue Jays 3, Dodgers 0

TORONTO – Shohei Ohtani is not a mythical figure, but rather a real, live human being who simply does remarkable things on the baseball field. 

And the Toronto Blue Jays did not hesitate to ambush him in Game 7 of the World Series. 

Pitching on three days’ rest for the first time in his career, Ohtani looked wobbly from the start, and then Bo Bichette applied a lightning-fast knockout blow: A first-pitch, three-run homer that electrified Rogers Centre, gave the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead and a massive edge in this call-to-arms Game 7. 

It exited the bat at 110 mph, Rogers Centre reaching an ear-splitting noise level before Bichette’s first career postseason home run settled 442 feet away from home plate. The longtime Blue Jays cornerstone, hobbled by a knee injury that robbed him of the first two rounds of the playoffs, enjoyed the view, taking a few steps down the first base line before beginning his trot. 

In a game of leverage, the Blue Jays have a massive advantage: Not only are they up 3-0, but starter Max Scherzer has required just 28 pitches to complete three innings. The Dodgers, meanwhile, burned Justin Wrobleski, their best lefty of late, to take after Ohtani in the third. 

Six innings to go. But a massive blast as the Blue Jays pursue their first title since 1993. 

The home run gives Bichette a strong chance at World Series MVP honors. He’s batting .350 (7 for 20) with a .958 OPS. And for now, he owns the biggest hit in the Fall Classic. 

Shohei Ohtani escapes bases-loaded jam in second inning

TORONTO – Shohei Ohtani survived the top of the second inning. Yet he can’t be long for this Game 7 of the World Series. Can he? 

The Blue Jays loaded the bases on the Dodgers’ two-way superstar, forced him to throw 25 pitches, coaxed pitching coach Mark Prior out of the dugout for a calm-down session. Yet much like the late innings of Game 6, they could not cash in. 

Ohtani summoned his reserves to fire a 99-mph fastball past Andrés Giménez, leaving the bases loaded and Game 7 scoreless through two innings. 

The Blue Jays must be encouraged by how vulnerable Ohtani looks, pitching on three days’ rest. Yet also thoroughly frustrated they are not leading this game. Bo Bichette drew a leadoff walk and Addison Barger drilled a single to right field. After a pair of popouts, an Ernie Clement single loaded the bases – but Bichette’s bum knee prevented him from scoring on the play. 

Given a reprieve, Ohtani blew a 1-2 pitch past Giménez. Threat over – but one team concerned, the other frustrated. 

Max Scherzer quickly through two innings

TORONTO – Shohei Ohtani wobbled just a bit in his first inning of work in Game 7 of the World Series, but the Blue Jays could not make him fall down. 

George Springer rifled a leadoff single against Ohtani, but the two-way superstar rallied to strike out Nathan Lukes on a split-finger fastball and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looking on a full-count, 99.6 mph fastball. 

The Blue Jays sent Springer on the pitch, a dubious decision given Springer is hobbled by both knee and side ailments and it wasn’t too unlikely Ohtani would register a strikeout. Guerrero was caught looking and Springer stopped running two-thirds of the way there, perhaps caught off guard by homeplate umpire Adrian Johnson’s deliberate strike three call. 

Meanwhile, Max Scherzer needed just 10 pitches to retire the side in each of the first two innings. Game 7 remains scoreless. 

Shohei Ohtani leads off Game 7 with a hit

Shohei Ohtani singled to center field to lead off the top of the first against Max Scherzer and moved to second on a fielder’s choice. But Scherzer got Freddie Freeman to fly out to center and Mookie Betts to ground out, stranding Ohtani in scoring position.

World Series MVP odds

Odds via BetMGM as of 8:25 p.m. ET, Friday

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: +100
Shohei Ohtani: +110
Yoshinobu Yamamoto: +500

Dodgers lineup today

Starting pitcher: Shohei Ohtani

Shohei Ohtani (L) P
Will Smith (R) C
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Mookie Betts (R) SS
Max Muncy (L) 3B
Teoscar Hernández (R) RF
Tommy Edman (S) CF
Enrique Hernández (R) LF
Miguel Rojas (R) 2B

Blue Jays lineup today

Starting pitcher: Max Scherzer

George Springer (R) DH
Nathan Lukes (L) LF
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (R) 1B
Bo Bichette (R) 2B
Addison Barger (L) RF
Alejandro Kirk (R) C
Daulton Varsho (L) CF
Ernie Clement (R) 3B
Andrés Giménez (L) SS

Game 7 could define legacies for these players

TORONTO — For better or worse, Game 7 of this World Series won’t just be about determining a champion between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.It will also determine, for better or worse, right or wrong, the legacies of the participants.

Alas, today’s ring culture can make perception reality. With that, here are five players whose reps may be burnished or burned a bit once the first champagne cork hits the floor:

Shohei Ohtani
Max Scherzer
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Mookie Betts
Trey Yesavage

– Gabe Lacques

Odds to win World Series Game 7

How many World Series have gone to Game 7?

Overall, there have been 40 Game 7s in World Series history, including a rare Game 8 in 1912 because of a tie in the second game of the series.

Here’s a look at the World Series Game 7s from the past 30 years:

Oct. 30, 2019 — Nationals 6, Astros 2
Nov. 1, 2017 — Astros 5, Dodgers 1
Nov. 2, 2016 — Cubs 8, Indians 7 (10 innings)
Oct. 29, 2014 — Giants 3, Royals 2
Oct. 28, 2011 — Cardinals 6, Rangers 2
Oct. 27, 2002 — Angels 4, Giants 1
Nov. 4, 2001 — Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 2
Oct. 26, 1997 — Marlins 3, Indians 2 (11 innings)
Oct. 27, 1991 — Twins 1, Braves 0 (10 innings)
Oct. 25, 1987 — Twins 4, Cardinals 2
Oct. 27, 1986 — Mets 8, Red Sox 5
Oct. 27, 1985 — Royals 11, Cardinals 0

What team has the most World Series titles?

Yankees – 27
Cardinals – 11
Athletics – 9
Red Sox – 9
Dodgers – 8
Giants – 8

Max Scherzer World Series wins

Three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer has won two World Series titles in his career: 2019 with the Washington Nationals and 2023 with the Texas Rangers. The 41-year-old also appeared in the 2012 Fall Classic with the Detroit Tigers and is the first player in history to pitch for four different teams in the World Series.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. rolls up to Game 7 in Marie-Philip Poulin jersey

World Series winners by year

2024: Dodgers
2023: Rangers
2022: Astros
2021: Braves
2020: Dodgers
2019: Nationals
2018: Red Sox
2017: Astros
2016: Cubs
2015: Royals
2014: Giants
2013: Red Sox
2012: Giants
2011: Cardinals
2010: Giants

World Series schedule 2025

Game 1: Blue Jays 11, Dodgers 4
Game 2: Dodgers 5, Blue Jays 1
Game 3: Dodgers 6, Blue Jays 5 (18 innings)
Game 4: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 2
Game 5: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 1
Game 6: Dodgers 3, Blue Jays 1
Game 7: Nov. 1 in Toronto – 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PDT

Dodgers vs Blue Jays Game 6 highlights

How many games are in the World Series?

The World Series is a best-of-seven series, meaning that a team needs to win four games in order to be crowned champions.

Who won the World Series last year?

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series in five games over the New York Yankees.

Alejandro Kirk height

Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk is 5 feet, 8 inches tall. A two-time All-Star, the 26-year-old has five home runs and 13 RBIs in 17 games this postseason.

Toronto Blue Jays World Series appearances

This is the Blue Jays’ third appearance in the World Series, winning championships in 1992 and 1993.

How many World Series have the Dodgers won?

Since the first World Series in 1903, the Dodgers have carved their name in history, claiming eight titles in their franchise history. The Dodgers’ title wins came in 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2000 and 2024.

When was the last time the Blue Jays won the World Series?

Toronto’s last World Series championship came in 1993, the second of their back-to-back titles.

Shohei Ohtani contract

Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers prior to the 2024 season. The largest contract in the history of North American pro sports when he signed in, the deal defers $680 million of the package to payments that start in 2034.

Dodgers World Series roster 2025

Pitchers (12): LHP Anthony Banda, LHP Jack Dreyer, RHP Tyler Glasnow, RHP Edgardo Henriquez, LHP Clayton Kershaw, RHP Will Klein, RHP Roki Sasaki, RHP Emmet Sheehan, LHP Blake Snell, RHP Blake Treinen, LHP Justin Wrobleski, RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Position, two-way players (14): SS Mookie Betts, OF Alex Call, OF Justin Dean, INF/OF Tommy Edman, 1B Freddie Freeman, INF/OF Kiké Hernández, OF Teoscar Hernández, INF/OF Hyeseong Kim, 3B Max Muncy, DH/P Shohei Ohtani, OF Andy Pages, INF Miguel Rojas, C Ben Rortvedt, C Will Smith.

Blue Jays World Series roster

Pitchers (12): RHP Chris Bassitt, RHP Shane Bieber, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, RHP Braydon Fisher, LHP Mason Fluharty, RHP Kevin Gausman, RHP Jeff Hoffman, LHP Eric Lauer, LHP Brendon Little, RHP Max Scherzer, RHP Louis Varland, RHP Trey Yesavage.

Position players (14): C Tyler Heineman, C Alejandro Kirk, INF/OF Addison Barger, INF Bo Bichette, INF Ernie Clement, INF Ty France, INF Andrés Giménez, INF Vladimir Guerrero Jr., INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa, OF Nathan Lukes, OF Davis Schneider, OF George Springer, OF Myles Straw, OF Daulton Varsho.

Congratulations are in order to the Los Angeles Dodgers for winning the World Series. Now, what are you going to do for an encore?

There were plenty of surprises this past season, so success in 2025 doesn’t necessarily translate into being a playoff contender in 2026. But it’s as good a place as any to start.

While acknowledging that free agent signings, trades and injuries will certainly shift the relative strengths of the clubs between now and the start of the regular season, we’re diving right in with a way-too-early look at which teams should be poised to compete in 2026 and which ones figure to scuffle.

Chance for repeat/three-peat?

Los Angeles Dodgers: You see stars everywhere you look in L.A. Sure, they flex their financial muscle to attract the brightest and the best, but they’re also very good at finding the right complementary pieces. As long as Shohei Ohtani is around, the Dodgers will be tough to beat. (And he’s under contract through 2033.)

Top contenders

Seattle Mariners: The M’s made it to the ALCS with the help of free agents Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez, but the key cogs on the roster – C Cal Raleigh, CF Julio Rodriguez and starters Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Luis Castillo – will all be back. That’s a solid foundation, and along with a fantastic bullpen, that elusive World Series appearance definitely appears within reach.

New York Yankees: Two-time (perhaps three-time?) MVP Aaron Judge anchors an offense that will look to fill Cody Bellinger’s spot in free agency. Starting rotation should be among MLB’s best, especially if Gerrit Cole can return from Tommy John surgery in the second half.

Atlanta Braves: The Braves hardly ever put their optimal squad on the field at the same time all season. OF Ronald Acuña and SP Spencer Strider were sidelined early with injuries, OF Jurickson Profar sat out the middle part with a suspension. SP Spencer Schwellenbach and 3B Austin Riley missed time in the second half. Just a little better luck and the Braves are back with a vengeance.

Solid foundation

Boston Red Sox: With ace Garrett Crochet and top prospects OF Roman Anthony, IF Marcelo Mayer and 2B Kristian Campbell, the future looks bright in Boston. The biggest unknown is what happens with 3B Alex Bregman, who can opt out of the final year of his contract.

Philadelphia Phillies: Was 2025 the final hurrah for this version of the Phils? DH Kyle Schwarber, C J.T. Realmuto and SP Ranger Suarez are free agents. Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Aaron Nola are entering their age-33 seasons. Ace Zack Wheeler had shoulder surgery in September and may not be ready for opening day.

Detroit Tigers: They cashed in some chips to bolster the postseason roster, but there are several impact prospects on the verge of the majors who could help keep the Tigers competitive for years to come. Plus, any team with Tarik Skubal at the top of the rotation must be taken seriously.

Baltimore Orioles: A new manager and (hopefully) better health should make for a bounce-back season in Charm City. Even better if ownership decides to loosen the purse strings for an impact free agent or two. Trevor Rogers and Kyle Bradish front a pitching staff that should be the focal point of offseason upgrades.

Cleveland Guardians: Jose Ramirez is a rock of consistency in all facets of the game. Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee are part of a pitching pipeline that seemingly never ends. We saw a glimpse of the future in this year’s playoffs when young OFs George Valera and Chase DeLauter got their feet wet.

We have questions

Houston Astros: We saw just how important a full season from OF/DH Yordan Alvarez is to the Astros’ success when they failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Father Time is an obstacle for over-30 vets Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Christian Walker and Josh Hader. While Hunter Brown is a legit ace, losing Framber Valdez to free agency will create a huge hole in the starting rotation.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Led by OF Corbin Carroll, 2B Ketel Marte and SS Geraldo Perdomo, the D’backs have an offense that can keep them competitive. The pitching staff, however, is filled with question marks. Corbin Burnes was supposed to be the anchor, but he’s recovering from Tommy John surgery and may not pitch again until late 2026.

Kansas City Royals: The top of the order is reason for excitement with MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. and lefty power bats Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone. Depth is a major concern, as is ace Cole Ragans’ ability to bounce back from a torn rotator cuff that limited him to just 13 starts in 2025.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays took a step backward this season, but there’s optimism surrounding a budding superstar in 3B Junior Caminero (45 HR, 110 RBI). He may not be able to replicate those power numbers – and the offense could struggle overall – when the team moves back to Tropicana Field, but an above-average pitching staff will welcome the change.

San Francisco Giants: GM Buster Posey made a bold move in plucking Tony Vitello from the college ranks to be his new manager. The bold move at midseason to acquire Rafael Devers didn’t quite work out, but middle-of-the-order sluggers don’t grow on trees. The Giants may have the widest range of outcomes of any major league team in 2026.

Needs improvement

Athletics: The first season in their temporary Sacramento home provided plenty of surprises – among them a seven-win jump from 2024. Emergence of rookies Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson makes the offense just good enough to be dangerous. But the pitching …

St. Louis Cardinals: The Chaim Bloom era begins in earnest as he takes over baseball operations from John Mozeilak. His first order of business will likely be to find a trade partner and deal veteran 3B Nolan Arenado. Second order of business is to find more power for an offense that had fewer homers than any team except the Pirates.

Minnesota Twins: Jettisoning more than half the major league roster at the trade deadline was certainly a choice. Now the Twins have to find a way to reload, most likely without making a big splash in free agency. CF Byron Buxton is the only true star, but his career is peppered with an assortment of injuries. Same with 3B Royce Lewis. At least the pitching staff should be able to keep games close.

Still a ways off

Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout remains stuck on a perpetual merry-go-round as he enters his 16th MLB season, still without a postseason win. SS Zach Neto and OF Jo Adell are exciting, yet flawed players. But as usual, Trout just needs more help, and the organization never seems to give him any.

Chicago White Sox: After several years of swapping veterans for prospects, it’s time to start seeing some of those moves pay off. C Kyle Teel and 2B Chase Meidroth are part of the first wave, along with first-round SS Colson Montgomery.

Washington Nationals: The youth movement continues with the hiring of 33-year-old Blake Butera to take over as manager. OF James Wood has superstar potential, while SS CJ Abrams has shown flashes but has lacked consistency. Pitching is the biggest issue; only the Rockies had a worse ERA in 2025.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Isn’t Paul Skenes amazing? If he only had some support from the offense. And from ownership,

TORONTO — The World Series championship is at stake in Game 7, high enough stakes already. Yet that alone wasn’t enough to prevent a benches-clearing incident in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Dodgers reliever Justin Wrobleski hit Andrés Giménez with a pitch on a 2-2 count, Giménez immediately dropping his bat and complaining to the lefty. 

And an already passively tense Game 7 suddenly turned aggressive. 

The benches cleared, and several shoving matches broke out, as Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy restrained Wrobleski and the Blue Jays hopped over the third base dugout railing to join the fray. 

Louis Varland was warming in the Blue Jays bullpen, readying to relieve Max Scherzer. He dropped everything and led his bullpen mates to the infield. 

Both benches were warned and the next batter, George Springer, drilled a ball off Wrobleski’s foot, to the delight of the crowd. 

While the Dodgers-Blue Jays Game 7 incident grabbed the viewing public’s attention, the tension between the dugouts had been brewing since the bottom of the first inning, when Dodgers starting pitcher and leadoff batter Shohei Ohtani took almost the entire between-innings break resting in the dugout, causing manager John Schneider to complain to home plate umpire Jordan Baker.

Ohtani emerged with about 40 seconds left and the countdown clock stopped. 

After that half inning, Schneider initially conferred at length with Baker. After Ohtani batted in the third, he remained in the dugout from the 3:10 mark at the countdown’s start until 17 seconds remained. 

The crowd booed. Baker said something to Ohtani. The clock stopped. 

As Springer stepped in, it’d been 4 minutes, 20 seconds since a pitch was last thrown. In a mid-inning interview with Fox Sports, Schneider called the delay ‘egregious’ and that the umpires said they’d discuss the delay with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. 

The point became moot when the Blue Jays chased Ohtani, the pitcher, from the game on Bo Bichette’s three-run homer in the third.

Ohtani was pitching on three days’ rest for the first time in his career

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TORONTO – When the ball left his bat, soaring up and over the Rogers Centre playing surface and forever into baseball lore, it only took a split-second to realize that Miguel Rojas, stunningly, had a Kirk Gibson moment.

Hit a ninth-inning, game-turning home run in the World Series for a franchise so steeped in history as the Los Angeles Dodgers, and your life will change forever – whether you’re on your way to winning the 1988 MVP award, or simply grinding out the 12th season of a career that’s included zero All-Star appearances and a lifetime batting average of .260.

Yet Rojas’s moment was far more Gibsonesque than any of the 44,713 fans at Rogers Centre or the tens of millions watching across the globe knew.

As it turns out, Rojas nearly couldn’t play World Series Game 7 on Nov. 1, having dislocated a rib celebrating his last, great moment: Completing a game-ending double play in Game 6 the night before, prompting teammates Mookie Betts and Kiké Hernández to leap in his arms.

Celebrate Dodgers’ World Series championship with our commemorative book!

He reported to the ballpark nearly seven hours before game time for treatment. Took a significant amount of medicine, including a cortisone shot just before the game that his doctor said would last him six hours.

And then, after hitting in the batting cage and completing most of his pregame routine, finally gave the go-ahead to manager Dave Roberts that he was good to go, that Roberts could start him a second consecutive night to inject life into a sagging lineup and Rojas’s esprit de corps into the infield.

The club’s medical staff put Rojas back together again. And then Rojas saved the Dodgers’ season.

Two outs from elimination and trailing the Toronto Blue Jays by one run in the top of the ninth inning, Rojas – who hit just seven home runs all season – battled Jeff Hoffman for six pitches before the Toronto closer gave him something to handle: A hanging slider in Rojas’s hot zone.

The stocky utility infielder put a gorgeous swing on the ball, sending it out over the Blue Jays bullpen and into the glove of a fan wholly disconsolate by the time he reeled it in.

In the Dodgers’ dugout: Bedlam.

The score was tied and two innings later, just like their Game 3, 18-inning triumph, the Dodgers’ inevitable game-winning homer came, this time off the bat of Will Smith to provide a 5-4 victory in 11 innings, and consecutive Dodgers World Series championships.

Rojas was around for both of them, a valued member of their title squads for his ability to say the right thing at the right time, to mentor a younger player, to serve as a de facto coach for Mookie Betts when the now four-time World Series champion transitioned from right field to shortstop.

But Series-saving home run? Well, Rojas views it simply as part of his arc as a Dodger, one he’s confident will have another rendition come 2026, when the 36-year-old plays what he has said will be his final season.

“I think this is the end of a great story. For my chance to tell everybody what I mean to the organization,” Rojas tells USA TODAY Sports. “Not many people know what happened behind the scenes, but I’m happy I got to hit the homer tonight. And help the team defensively yesterday.

“I can tell you that I’m here to serve others and be there for my teammates. But at the end of the day, if I can have a moment like this, it’s great.”

It’s been 37 years since Gibson, hobbled by injuries to both knees, took just one World Series at-bat for the 1988 Dodgers against the Oakland Athletics, perhaps the most documented plate appearance in modern history: The physical treatment, the clandestine batting cage session, the signal to manager Tommy Lasorda that yes, he was good to go.

And finally, the ill-fated backdoor slider peerless closer Dennis Eckersley threw Gibson, who, almost all arms, lifted it over the wall in right field for a two-run homer, a Game 1 walk-off job before Eckersley himself coined that phrase four years later.

This time, the circumstances were different. Rojas played 10 innings of defense, making a fantastic play in the bottom of the ninth, the Blue Jays 90 feet from winning the World Series and rendering his homer a footnote.

With the infield in, he one-hopped a grounder hit by Daulton Varsho and, with pinch-runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa chugging home, fired to catcher Will Smith to choke off the run.

The Dodgers escaped the inning. Rojas did not feel good.

“I felt it. Not gonna say that’s why (the play) was so close,” he says. “I was on my knees a little bit after that play. I felt it a little bit.”

He took one more at-bat in the top of the 11th, grounding out to third, and once again felt severe pain, which he described as arm-numbing and potentially cutting short his breath. Two batters later, Smith’s home run off Shane Bieber gave the Dodgers the lead for good.

And Rojas finally relented, telling Roberts he could go no more. Rookie Hyeseong Kim was on the field for the bottom of the 11th and the celebratory moment on the infield.

So be it. Rojas’s work was done.

“I think it was too late to take another shot, to calm it down,” says Rojas. “I took one before the game. The doctor told me I could do one every six hours.

“But I didn’t want to put myself in that situation where we already had the lead and we got another second baseman who is capable.”

No worries. The Dodgers know who Rojas is, and what he means, not just when the lights are brightest but more often when it’s the dog days, or the dark days, of a bid to repeat as champions and things go awry.

 “It couldn’t have been a better guy. Oh my gosh,” says first baseman Max Muncy, part of the Dodgers’ cabal of three-time titlists in the past five years. “I mean, you’re talking about the ultimate team guy. He is willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win.

“When he wasn’t getting his playing time, he went to the coaches and said hey, how can I help out? They talked to him and he did everything they asked him to do.

“For him to get that home run to tie it up, brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.”

Rojas had taken 51 postseason at-bats in his career. And had just one extra-base hit – a homer for the 2020 Marlins.

This one was a little bit bigger, one that Roberts felt was karma, working in a positive direction.

“He deserved that moment,” says Roberts.

Says first baseman Freddie Freeman: ‘When you play the game right, when you treat people right, when you’re a teammate like Miguel is, the game honors you. To come up with that moment when you’re 36 years old, when you’re saying you’re going to retire after next season, to have that moment in World Series Game 7?

‘Just absolutely incredible.’

For Rojas, the hourglass is running out of sand. He hopes a Dodgers reunion is in order for his 2026 swan song; it is not hard to envision a longer-term future between de facto coach and an organization that clearly holds him in high regard.

“Doc has been great. A friend to me for three years now,” says Rojas. “I’ll never be more proud and satisfied of the way this organization has been treating me the last three years.”

On a crisp night in Canada, he carved out his permanent space within it, a legend forever thanks to the right swing at the most important time.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named the 2025 World Series MVP after the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a 5-4 victory after 11 innings in Game 7 on Saturday.

Yamamoto started two games on the mound for the Dodgers before coming in as the closer for Game 7.

In Game 7, the Japanese pitcher allowed just one hit and a walk while striking out one in 2.2 innings pitched. He entered the game with two members of the Blue Jays on base in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“That guy is everything you can ask for,” Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas told Fox about Yamamoto after the game.

In Game 6, Yamamoto allowed five hits and an earned run in six innings pitched on Friday. He also struck out six and allowed a walk against the Blue Jays.

Los Angeles becomes the first team to win back-to-back World Series since the New York Yankees, who won three consecutive titles from 1998 to 2000.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

USA TODAY has all the results and highlights from the 2025 World Series Game 7.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won the 2025 World Series in Toronto.

With a champion crowned and the season coming to a close, it’s never too early to look at the potential champion for the 2026 season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees are not only two of the more notable franchises in the league, but they are also considered early favorites to compete for the next title.

If the two were to meet in the World Series next season, it would be a rematch of the 2024 World Series, with Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge expected to serve as the featured players in the series.

A lot can happen to shake up the league in the coming months, but here’s how things stand currently.

Celebrate Dodgers’ World Series championship with our commemorative book!

Odds for World Series 2026 winner

(As of Saturday, Nov. 1, on Fanduel)

Los Angeles Dodgers: +350
New York Yankees: +700
Philadelphia Phillies: +1000
New York Mets: +1100
Seattle Mariners: +1200
Houston Astros: +1300
Boston Red Sox: +1700
Atlanta Braves: +2000
San Diego Padres: +2000
Toronto Blue Jays: +2000
Chicago Cubs: +2200
Milwaukee Brewers: +2200
Baltimore Orioles: +2700
Cleveland Guardians: +2700
Detroit Tigers: +2700
Kansas City Royals: +3500
San Francisco Giants: +3500
Cincinnati Reds: +4000
Texas Rangers: +4000
Tampa Bay Rays: +5000
Arizona Diamondbacks: +6500
Minnesota Twins: +8000
Athletics: +10000
St. Louis Cardinals: +12500
Miami Marlins: +15000
Pittsburgh Pirates: +22500
Los Angeles Angels: +30000
Colorado Rockies: +50000
Chicago White Sox: +50000
Washington Nationals: +50000

AUSTIN – Arch Manning’s got jokes, man.

The unrelenting pressure of this season didn’t strip him of his personality or sense of humor. If anything, his quips are his antidote.

To what did he attribute his career-best performance in a 34-31 win against Vanderbilt?

“Maybe the concussion helped,” Manning said with a smile.

OK, so it probably wasn’t the head injury Manning suffered last weekend. Instead, start with Texas’ offensive line that protected Manning, sack-free, against Vanderbilt.

“They played really well today,” he said.

It’s also nice when a swing pass can turn into a 75-yard touchdown. That’s what happened when Manning flipped a pass to Ryan Wingo on the first play from scrimmage. Two Vanderbilt missed tackles and a sprint by Wingo later, and the Longhorns had seven points.

“Receivers made plays,” Manning said. “That makes it a little easier.”

Credit all around, sure, but Manning looked sublime.

He completed 10 straight passes before his final first-half toss — a Hail Mary heave — sailed out of the back of the end zone. Manning’s got a one-liner about that, too.

“I’m probably still going to get chewed out. Did you see that Hail Mary?” Manning said. “I (almost) threw it into the freaking” stands.

Texas schedule stays tough, with Georgia next

No joking about this: If Manning and his supporting cast play like this a few more times, the Longhorns can rally their way into the College Football Playoff.

Not that Manning’s ready to toast that thought yet, not with Georgia up next.

“Dawgs at their place is going to be no joke,” Manning said.

As Texas defensive end Ethan Burke put it, the playoff’s already begun for Texas. That’s the mentality any team saddled with two losses must have.

The playoff committee’s never selected a three-loss team. Could Texas become the first? Maybe. Its strength of schedule will help. But, that’s playing with fire. The only sure path for the Longhorns is to keep winning.

“It’s playoff football, before the playoffs. Everyone’s fighting for those 12 spots,” Burke said. “You’ve got to keep winning, no matter what.”

How Arch Manning impressed his coach

Coach Steve Sarkisian particularly loved Manning’s completions when he worked his way to secondary or tertiary reads. Those throws told Sark two things: Manning’s learning how to move through his progressions, and his offensive line gave him time to do it.

“I don’t know if we were doing that even three weeks ago,” Sarkisian said. “He’s really growing up before our eyes, and he’s making great decisions, and he’s throwing the ball accurately, and that’s why we were 7-for-11 on third down.”

Well, there’s one decision Manning probably wishes he could have back.

Did you see that viral photo that surfaced showing Manning in his GMC Denali talking to a police officer during a traffic stop?

Yep, it’s true. He got pulled over this week. Here’s what went down.

“It was a crosswalk, and it was a solid red, and no one was around, and I went,” Manning said.

Wait, if no one was around …

“I guess someone was around,” Manning said, with another hint of humor.

Indeed. At least two someones. The officer who pulled over Manning, and the person who snapped the viral photo.

“My first time getting pulled over in Austin,” Manning said. “Didn’t help that I didn’t have my wallet on me, so I didn’t have my license,”

Hello, viral photo.

“That was definitely weird,” Manning said of the photo making the rounds online.

Manning received a warning and was not ticketed, a Texas athletics official confirmed to USA TODAY.

Vanderbilt couldn’t stop Texas pass game

On Thursday, Manning got medical clearance to play after he spent the week in concussion protocol. He exited in overtime of Texas’ win against Mississippi State last weekend. By the next day, Manning felt confident he’d be OK to play against the Commodores.

He played up to all of his five-star hype, finally. Up to this point in the season, Manning’s legs had been his most reliable asset. He let his arm do the work in this one, and his receivers piled up yards after the catch against a flimsy Vanderbilt defense that suffered amnesia on how to tackle. Eight Texas receivers caught at least two passes.

And although Vanderbilt rallied to make the end of the game tenser than necessary, Manning could smile and joke afterward.

This is exactly the quarterback Texas needs in this critical November stretch run.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was eventually going to break bad. Only a matter of time and circumstance. 

Just like all things associated with former coach Billy Napier’s tenure at Florida. The inevitable unraveling was right on cue. 

So it should come as no surprise Georgia flexed, and Florida wilted and all that has defined nearly four years of incomprehensible incompetence in Gainesville — on and off the field — unfolded this time with an interim coach running a lost program. 

Same scene, different Saturday.

Georgia beat Florida again in this storied rivalry, but the story isn’t Georgia’s come-from-behind 24-20 victory and march to the College Football Playoff. It’s the death spiral of the Florida program. 

“Hats off to our players for not giving in,” said Florida interim coach Billy Gonzales. 

And he may as well have been DJ Durkin, or Randy Shannon or Greg Knox — former interim coaches at Florida over the previous 15 years who said the exact same thing while picking up the pieces from the guy fired before them. 

Only this time, this mistake, is the biggest of all. 

Once the elite of the sport, Florida has tumbled all the way to irrelevancy on the tail end of a brutal run of three and half seasons with Napier. The undoing — on and off the field — is as shocking as it is surreal.  

There’s a reason ESPN’s College Game Day show planted stakes in Salt Lake City for that riveting Utah-Cincinnati game instead of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

I mean, Utah and Cincinnati, for the love of Yormark.

The harsh truth is Florida doesn’t move the needle anymore, and has taken one of the sport’s greatest rivalries down with it. Empty seats, dysfunctional teams and for the first time since the 1980s, an interim coach in the marquee game on the schedule.

But the latest Florida stumble and ensuing reboot — the search for a fifth coach since 2011 — is more damaging than any other for a program that not long ago won three national titles in 13 seasons. Because in an ever-changing college football world, those who hesitate lose. 

This, everyone, is why what should be done eventually must be done immediately.

Why Napier should’ve been fired during the first half of last year’s disastrous start, and not last week. That could’ve been Lane Kiffin coaching a talented Florida team in the biggest game of the season.

Or Eli Drinkwitz. Or Jeff Brohm. Or, what the heck, at this point, Jon Gruden.

Instead of another interim coach in another difficult spot of trying to hold together a team, all because those in charge make poor decisions. And then double down.

Understand this: Florida will have a much more difficult time hiring Kiffin ― the one coach deep-pocket boosters and a rabid fan base badly want ― to rebuild the program, than it would’ve had last season.

A year ago, Kiffin failed to make the CFP after a late loss at Florida, a game that went a long way in Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin hiring Napier a second time. Because that’s what last year’s decision to keep Napier was. 

Instead of firing Napier, whose teams had an indelible track record of operational dysfunction despite being given every possible advantage, Stricklin essentially hired him again for a one-shot season. When Stricklin should’ve taken advantage of Kiffin’s position in 2024.

Kiffin was primed to move after a disappointing finish with a stacked roster, and would’ve been more likely to leave. Now Stricklin must deal with a surging Ole Miss team, and the uncertainty Kiffin will leave what he has built in Oxford for the mess in Gainesville. 

What’s worse, that uncertainty in the transfer portal world of free player movement could gut a talented roster. A roster that, despite the 22-24 record since 2022, can compete with most in the country. 

There was scant difference in talent between Georgia and Florida this time around, the first time Florida could claim that in more than a decade. Florida has better skill players on offense, and — I can’t believe I’m writing this — a better defensive line.

Give the Florida roster to Georgia coach Kirby Smart and his staff, and there’s a greater chance the Dawgs win their third national title since 2021. 

How many of those Florida players will wait to see if Stricklin can land Kiffin, or any other elite coach, before jumping into the transfer portal for more money and/or a chance to get away from a sinking ship?

Florida was playing on guts and guile Saturday, a group of talented players who have been coached poorly for the past three seasons but were finally unshackled for two weeks since the firing. They played loose and fast, and had Georgia on its heels for 50-plus minutes. 

They had the ball inside the Georgia 25 with six minutes to play and leading 20-17, and couldn’t close it out. Two poor play calls on 3rd- and 4th-and-short led to a turnover on downs. 

Then Georgia did what good teams — smartly-coached good teams — do, responding with a go-ahead touchdown drive and suffocating any hope of one of the biggest upsets in series history. And leaving Florida players stunned and in disbelief while walking off the turf at Everbank Field. 

“Whatever the situation, nothing stops,” said Florida defensive end Tyreak Sapp. “No matter if this helicopter crashes, we’re going to be there for each other.”

Because what else is there? It’s the same thing players said after the three previous failed hires (Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Dan Mullen), the same thing the previous three interim coaches said, too. 

Stay strong. Overcome challenges. Believe in the program. 

Want the lasting takeaway from a fifth straight Florida loss in the series? The Gators not only wasted a season with a loaded roster, it wasted an opportunity to have this team coached by Kiffin.

That may be the greatest unraveling of all. 

Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.